In the prior art, a vehicle body structure having high stiffness has been proposed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,733 discloses a vehicle rear body structure having a belt line reinforcement extending horizontally toward the rear portion of the body, to provide a highly stiff vehicle body. A rear end of the belt line reinforcement is connected to a rear panel of the vehicle body, while a front end of the belt line reinforcement is connected to an intermediate portion of a vertical rear pillar. When an end-to-end vehicle collision occurs, the impact energy is consequently transmitted to the rear pillar.
Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 60-131377 discloses a rear body structure having the belt line reinforcement connected to an intermediate portion of the rear pillar, and a frame reinforcement which is connected to an upper end of the rear pillar and to a middle portion of the belt line reinforcement at its respective ends. However, in the vehicle rear body structures in U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,733 and Japanese laid-open utility model publication No. 60-131377, when an end-to-end vehicle collision occurs, the impact energy bears on the connecting portion between the belt line reinforcement and the rear pillar. As a result, the rear pillar is easily bent forward at the portion connected with the belt line reinforcement. Such a bent rear pillar may prevent the door from opening, no matter how much effort the passenger may apply to it.